Communication Failures Among Diagnostic Physicians May Lead to More Medical Errors

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A new study published in the Journal of the American College of Radiology found that avoidable communication breakdowns among diagnostic physicians correlates to a higher percentage of medical errors.
According to UPI, “The study found the contributing factors in malpractice cases associated with communication failures include failure of physicians and patients to receive results, delays in report findings and lengthy turnaround time.”
During the past decade, the number of diagnostic tests ordered for patients has markedly increased. The increase coupled with poorly defined communications strategies among physicians has led to a significant increase in the number of medical errors.
“Using data from the National Practitioner Data Bank, the study authors found the total indemnity payout across all medical specialties for U.S. claims related to the three types of communication failures they studied increased from $21.7 million in 1991 to $91 million in 2010.”

Kevin Dugan
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